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Jeb Bush is not the answer

One of the perennial problems in GOP politics is that our presidential candidates have more in common with their Democrat opponents than they do with the people who vote for Republican candidates. They talk conservative when they need to but their allegiance is really to their own social class. The cheers of GOP voters is nice but the plaudits of the media and the “smart set” is their catnip. Case in point: Jeb Bush.

As chairman of the National Constitution Center, Bush gave Clinton a lifetime achievement award for public service and her work on women’s rights.

A video released by ForAmerica shows footage of Bush thanking Clinton and her husband, President Bill Clinton.

“We are united by love of country and public service,” Bush says. The video then shows text calling Hillary Clinton “responsible for the security of the American embassy in Benghazi” and noting that the 2012 attack on the embassy that left four Americans dead “occurred on her watch.”

The event occurred one night before the first anniversary of the Benghazi attacks.

When viewed in the context of the situation this can hardly be seen as a benign event. Clinton was obviously being talked about as a 2016 candidate. The award was less than a year after the Benghazi attacks. It was only three months after Clinton answer a question by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)81% on Benghazi by saying, “What difference, at this point, does it make?”

Yet, this is what Jeb Bush had to say:

“Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,” said National Constitution Center Chairman Governor Jeb Bush. “These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.”

“The Liberty Medal recognizes individuals who have furthered the ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality, often against great odds,” said National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. “Hillary Clinton has devoted her life to expanding opportunities for ‘We the People’ not just in this country but around the globe.”

Eh? When did this happen?

I’m not a huge fan of Brent Bozell but I think he gets his critique of this exactly right:

“Anytime Jeb calls Hillary ‘Obama 2.0,’ any criticism he makes of her awful record as Secretary of State, any time he shows how much of an extremist she is on the issues, will be completely dismissed when she reminds everyone that he gave her an award for public service,” Bozell said in a statement.

“Jeb has absolutely no credibility to criticize her because he has already anointed her as a great public servant; and he inexplicably did so almost a year to the day of the Benghazi massacre,” he continued. “He will lose, and the public will have to suffer at least another four years of Obama’s policies – and anything worse she has in store for America.”

I’m sure Jeb Bush is a nice guy [we disagree]. But ultimately he’s a member of the same school of thought as Hillary Clinton. He’s a believer in open borders. He’s a champion, along with Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, and the Chamber of Commerce of supporting Common Core as a way of ensuring a steady stream of entry level workers rather than developing an engaged and inquiring citizenry. He is going to promote big government solutions, albeit his will have something to a conservative sounding patina. The Clintons, the Bushes, the Romneys, long serving senators like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)49% are all members of the same elite clique. They socialize. They exchange phone calls. They play to the cheap seats… that would be you and I… but ultimately their loyalty is to each other. Jeb Bush is not going to attack Hillary Clinton. In fact, you can guarantee that while Clinton’s apparatus is savaging him he will go out of his way to pal around with her. If he is nominated, we are going to see a replay of Mitt Romney and his failure to actually disagree with Barack Obama. In short, no matter the talents or virtues he has, Jeb Bush is hopelessly compromised.

We are a nation that is beyond a crossroads. We have missed the turn. To get where we need to go we need to back up, not just meander forward into statism. Thirty or forty years ago Jeb Bush’s go-along-get-alongism would have been irrelevant. At that time the nature of America seemed fairly well defined and while there was disagreement about the edges there was agreement on core values. That situation no longer exists. Do we go along the path we are on where the government becomes our master or, in Star Trek lexicon, “the giver of pain and delight?” Or do we look to our heritage and our history to establish a modest federal government and a freer and more open and upwardly mobile society?

A vote for Jeb Bush is a vote for the next step on the road to being subjects rather than citizens.